Publications

Science is our DNA and the foundation of BioNTech’s approach

We maintain a culture of scientific excellence and will continue to drive future innovation through sharing our key findings in a peer reviewed format

mRNA Therapeutics

Sahin U, Derhovanessian E, Miller M, Kloke BP, Simon P, Löwer M, Bukur V, Tadmor AD, Luxemburger U, Schrörs B, Omokoko T, Vormehr M, Albrecht C, Paruzynski A, Kuhn AN, Buck J, Heesch S, Schreeb KH, Müller F, Ortseifer I, Vogler I, Godehardt E, Attig S, Rae R, Breitkreuz A, Tolliver C, Suchan M, Martic G, Hohberger A, Sorn P, Diekmann J, Ciesla J, Waksmann O, Brück AK, Witt M, Zillgen M, Rothermel A, Kasemann B, Langer D, Bolte S, Diken M, Kreiter S, Nemecek R, Gebhardt C, Grabbe S, Höller C, Utikal J, Huber C, Loquai C, Türeci Ö. (2017).
Personalized RNA mutanome vaccines mobilize poly-specific therapeutic immunity against cancer.
Nature. Jul 13; 547(7662):222-226.
Stadler CR, Bähr-Mahmud H, Celik L, Hebich B, Roth AS, Roth RP, Karikó K, Türeci Ö, Sahin U. (2017).
Elimination of large tumors in mice by mRNA-encoded bispecific antibodies.
Nature Medicine Jul; 23(7):815-817. doi: 10.1038/nm.4356. Epub 2017 Jun 12.
Pardi N, Hogan MJ, Pelc RS, Muramatsu H, Andersen H, DeMaso CR, Dowd KA, Sutherland LL, Scearce RM, Parks R, Wagner W, Granados A, Greenhouse J, Walker M, Willis E, Yu JS, McGee CE, Sempowski GD, Mui BL, Tam YK, Huang YJ, Vanlandingham D, Holmes VM, Balachandran H, Sahu S, Lifton M, Higgs S, Hensley SE, Madden TD, Hope MJ, Karikó K, Santra S, Graham BS, Lewis MG, Pierson TC, Haynes BF, Weissman D. (2017).
Zika virus protection by a single low-dose nucleoside-modified mRNA vaccination.
Nature. Mar 9; 543(7644):248-251.
Grabbe S, Haas H, Diken M, Kranz LM, Langguth P, Sahin U. (2016).
Translating nanoparticulate-personalized cancer vaccines into clinical applications: case study with RNA-lipoplexes for the treatment of melanoma.
Nanomedicine (Lond). Oct; 11(20):2723-2734.
Kranz LM, Diken M, Haas H, Kreiter S, Loquai C, Reuter KC, Meng M, Fritz D, Vascotto F, Hefesha H, Grunwitz C, Vormehr M, Hüsemann Y, Selmi A, Kuhn AN, Buck J, Derhovanessian E, Rae R, Attig S, Diekmann J, Jabulowsky RA, Heesch S, Hassel J, Langguth P, Grabbe S, Huber C, Türeci Ö, Sahin U. (2016).
Systemic RNA delivery to dendritic cells exploits antiviral defence for cancer immunotherapy.
Nature. Jun 1; 534(7607):396-401.
Poleganov MA, Eminli S, Beissert T, Herz S, Moon JI, Goldmann J, Beyer A, Heck R, Burkhart I, Barea Roldan D, et al (2015).
Efficient Reprogramming of Human Fibroblasts and Blood-Derived Endothelial Progenitor Cells Using Nonmodified RNA for Reprogramming and Immune Evasion.
Hum Gene Ther. Nov; 26(11):751-766.
Kowalska J, Wypijewska del Nogal A, Darzynkiewicz ZM, Buck J, Nicola C, Kuhn AN, Lukaszewicz M, Zuberek J, Strenkowska M, Ziemniak M, et al (2014).
Synthesis, properties, and biological activity of boranophosphate analogs of the mRNA cap: versatile tools for manipulation of therapeutically relevant cap-dependent processes.
Nucleic Acids Res. 42(16):10245-10264.
Sahin U, Kariko K and Tureci O (2014).
mRNA-based therapeutics–developing a new class of drugs.
Nat Rev Drug Discov. Oct; 13(10):759-780.
Kreiter S, Vormehr M, van de Roemer N, Diken M, Lower M, Diekmann J, Boegel S, Schrors B, Vascotto F, Castle JC et al (2015).
Mutant MHC class II epitopes drive therapeutic immune responses to cancer.
Nature. Apr 30; 520(7549):692-696.
Castle JC, Loewer M, Boegel S, de Graaf J, Bender C, Tadmor AD, Boisguerin V, Bukur T, Sorn P, Paret C et al. (2014).
Immunomic, genomic and transcriptomic characterization of CT26 colorectal carcinoma.
BMC Genomics. 15:190.
Castle JC, Kreiter S, Diekmann J, Lower M, van de Roemer N, de Graaf J, Selmi A, Diken M, Boegel S, Paret C et al (2012).
Exploiting the mutanome for tumor vaccination.
Cancer Res. Mar 1; 72(5):1081-1091.
Kreiter S, Selmi A, Diken M, Koslowski M, Britten CM, Huber C, Tureci O and Sahin U (2010).
Intranodal vaccination with naked antigen-encoding RNA elicits potent prophylactic and therapeutic antitumoral immunity.
Cancer Res. Nov 15; 70(22):9031-9040.
Christina Krienke, Laura Kolb*, Elif Diken*, Michael Streuber, Sarah Kirchhoff, Thomas Bukur, Özlem Akilli-Öztürk, Lena M. Kranz, Hendrik Berger, Jutta Petschenka, Mustafa Diken, Sebastian Kreiter, Nir Yogev, Ari Waisman, Katalin Karikó, Özlem Türeci, Ugur Sahin†
A noninflammatory mRNA vaccine for treatment of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis
Science 371, 145-153 (2021). DOI: 10.1126/science.aay3638.
Fernando P. Polack, M.D., Stephen J. Thomas, M.D., Nicholas Kitchin, M.D., Judith Absalon, M.D., Alejandra Gurtman, M.D., Stephen Lockhart, D.M., John L. Perez, M.D., Gonzalo Pérez Marc, M.D., Edson D. Moreira, M.D., Cristiano Zerbini, M.D., Ruth Bailey, B.Sc., Kena A. Swanson, Ph.D., Satrajit Roychoudhury, Ph.D., Kenneth Koury, Ph.D., Ping Li, Ph.D., Warren V. Kalina, Ph.D., David Cooper, Ph.D., Robert W. Frenck, Jr., M.D., Laura L. Hammitt, M.D., Özlem Türeci, M.D., Haylene Nell, M.D., Axel Schaefer, M.D., Serhat Ünal, M.D., Dina B. Tresnan, D.V.M., Ph.D., Susan Mather, M.D., Philip R. Dormitzer, M.D., Ph.D., Uğur Şahin, M.D., Kathrin U. Jansen, Ph.D., and William C. Gruber, M.D., for the C4591001 Clinical Trial Group
Safety and Efficacy of the BNT162b2 mRNA Covid-19 Vaccine
New England Journal of Medicine2020;383:2603-15. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2034577
Annette B. Vogel, Isis Kanevsky, Ye Che, Kena A. Swanson, Alexander Muik, Mathias Vormehr, Lena M. Kranz, Kerstin C. Walzer, Stephanie Hein, Alptekin Güler, Jakob Loschko, Mohan S. Maddur, Ayuko Ota-Setlik, Kristin Tompkins, Journey Cole, Bonny G. Lui, Thomas Ziegenhals, Arianne Plaschke, David Eisel, Sarah C. Dany, Stephanie Fesser, Stephanie Erbar, Ferdia Bates, Diana Schneider, Bernadette Jesionek, Bianca Sänger, Ann-Kathrin Wallisch, Yvonne Feuchter, Hanna Junginger, Stefanie A. Krumm, André P. Heinen, Petra Adams-Quack, Julia Schlereth, Stefan Schille, Christoph Kröner, Ramón de la Caridad Güimil Garcia, Thomas Hiller, Leyla Fischer, Rani S. Sellers, Shambhunath Choudhary, Olga Gonzalez, Fulvia Vascotto, Matthew R. Gutman, Jane A. Fontenot, Shannan Hall-Ursone, Kathleen Brasky, Matthew C. Griffor, Seungil, Andreas A. H. Su, Joshua A. Lees, Nicole L. Nedoma, Ellene H. Mashalidis, Parag V. Sahasrabudhe, Charles Y. Tan, Danka Pavliakova, Guy Singh, Camila Fontes-Garfias, Michael Pride, Ingrid L. Scully, Tara Ciolino, Jennifer Obregon, Michal Gazi, Ricardo Carrion Jr, Kendra J. Alfson, Warren V. Kalina, Deepak Kaushal, Pei-Yong Shi, Thorsten Klamp, Corinna Rosenbaum, Andreas N. Kuhn, Özlem Türeci, Philip R. Dormitzer, Kathrin U. Jansen & Ugur Sahin
BNT162b vaccines protect rhesus macaques from SARS-CoV-2
Nature (2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-03275-y
Edward E. Walsh, M.D., Robert W. Frenck, Jr., M.D., Ann R. Falsey, M.D., Nicholas Kitchin, M.D., Judith Absalon, M.D., Alejandra Gurtman, M.D., Stephen Lockhart, D.M., Kathleen Neuzil, M.D., Mark J. Mulligan, M.D., Ruth Bailey, B.Sc., Kena A. Swanson, Ph.D., Ping Li, Ph.D., Kenneth Koury, Ph.D., Warren Kalina, Ph.D., David Cooper, Ph.D., Camila Fontes‑Garfias, B.Sc., Pei‑Yong Shi, Ph.D., Özlem Türeci, M.D., Kristin R. Tompkins, B.Sc., Kirsten E. Lyke, M.D., Vanessa Raabe, M.D., Philip R. Dormitzer, M.D., Kathrin U. Jansen, Ph.D., Uğur Şahin, M.D., and William C. Gruber, M.D.
Safety and Immunogenicity of Two RNA-Based Covid-19 Vaccine Candidates
New England Journal of Medicine 2020;383:2439-50 DOI: 10.1056/NEJMMoa2027906
Ugur Sahin, Alexander Muik, Evelyna Derhovanessian, Isabel Vogler, Lena M. Kranz, Mathias Vormehr, Alina Baum, Kristen Pascal, Jasmin Quandt, Daniel Maurus, Sebastian Brachtendorf, Verena Lörks, Julian Sikorski, Rolf Hilker, Dirk Becker, Ann-Kathrin Eller, Jan Grützner, Carsten Boesler, Corinna Rosenbaum, Marie-Cristine, Kühnle, Ulrich Luxemburger, Alexandra Kemmer-Brück, David Langer, Martin Bexon, Stefanie Bolte, Katalin Karikó, Tania Palanche, Boris Fischer, Armin Schultz, Pei-Yong Shi, Camila Fontes-Garfias, John L. Perez, Kena A. Swanson, Jakob Loschko, Ingrid L. Scully, Mark Cutler, Warren Kalina, Christos A. Kyratsous, David Cooper, Philip R. Dormitzer, Kathrin U. Jansen & Özlem Türeci
COVID-19 vaccine BNT162b1 elicits human antibody and TH1 T cell responses
Nature 586, 594–599 (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2814-7
Ugur Sahin, Petra Oehm, Evelyna Derhovanessian, Robert A. Jabulowsky, Mathias Vormehr, Maike Gold, Daniel Maurus, Doreen Schwarck-Kokarakis, Andreas N. Kuhn, Tana Omokoko, Lena M. Kranz, Mustafa Diken, Sebastian Kreiter, Heinrich Haas, Sebastian Attig, Richard Rae, Katarina Cuk, Alexandra Kemmer-Brück, Andrea Breitkreuz, Claudia Tolliver, Janina Caspar, Juliane Quinkhardt, Lisa Hebich, Malte Stein, Alexander Hohberger, Isabel Vogler, Inga Liebig, Stephanie Renken, Julian Sikorski, Melanie Leierer, Verena Müller, Heidrun Mitzel-Rink, Matthias Miederer, Christoph Huber, Stephan Grabbe, Jochen Utikal, Andreas Pinter, Roland Kaufmann, Jessica C. Hassel, Carmen Loquai & Özlem Türeci
An RNA vaccine drives immunity in checkpoint-inhibitor-treated melanoma
Nature 585, 107–112 (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2537-9
Liu, Y. et al.
Neutralizing Activity of BNT162b2-Elicited Serum
New England Journal of Medicine (2021). DOI: 10.1056/NEJMc2102017
Xuping Xie, Yang Liu, Jianying Liu, Xianwen Zhang, Jing Zou, Camila R. Fontes-Garfias, Hongjie Xia, Kena A. Swanson, Mark Cutler, David Cooper, Vineet D. Menachery, Scott C. Weaver, Philip R. Dormitzer & Pei-Yong Shi
Neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 spike 69/70 deletion, E484K and N501Y variants by BNT162b2 vaccine-elicited sera
Nature Medicine (2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41591-021-01270-4
Mark J. Mulligan, Kirsten E. Lyke, Nicholas Kitchin, Judith Absalon, Alejandra Gurtman, Stephen Lockhart, Kathleen Neuzil, Vanessa Raabe, Ruth Bailey, Kena A. Swanson, Ping Li, Kenneth Koury, Warren Kalina, David Cooper, Camila Fontes-Garfias, Pei-Yong Shi, Özlem Türeci, Kristin R. Tompkins, Edward E. Walsh, Robert Frenck, Ann R. Falsey, Philip R. Dormitzer, William C. Gruber, Uğur Şahin & Kathrin U. Jansen
Phase I/II study of COVID-19 RNA vaccine BNT162b1 in adults
Nature 586, 589-593(2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-03098-3
Hotz C, Wagenaar TR, Gieseke F, Bangari DS, Callahan M, Cao H, Diekmann J, Diken M, Grunwitz C, Hebert A, Hsu K, Bernardo M, Karikó K, Kreiter S, Kuhn AN, Levit M, Malkova N, Masciari S, Pollard J, Qu H, Ryan S, Selmi A, Schlereth J, Singh K, Sun F, Tillmann B, Tolstykh T, Weber W, Wicke L, Witzel S, Yu Q, Zhang YA, Zheng G, Lager J, Nabel GJ, Sahin U, Wiederschain D. (2021)
Local delivery of mRNA-encoded cytokines promotes antitumor immunity and tumor eradication across multiple preclinical tumor models.
Sci Transl Med. Sep 8;13(610):eabc7804. DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.abc7804.

Engineered Cell Therapies

Simon P, Omokoko TA, Breitkreuz A, Hebich L, Kreiter S, Attig S, Konur A, Britten CM, Paret C, Dhaene K et al (2014).
Functional TCR retrieval from single antigen-specific human T cells reveals multiple novel epitopes.
Cancer Immunol Res. Dec; 2(12):1230-1244.
Omokoko T, Simon P, Tureci O and Sahin U (2015).
Retrieval of functional TCRs from single antigen-specific T cells: Toward individualized TCR-engineered therapies.
Oncoimmunology. Jul; 4(7):e1005523.
K.Reinhard, B. Rengstl, P. Oehm, K. Michel, A. Billmeier, N. Hayduk, O. Klein, K. Kuna, Y. Ouchan, S.Wöll, E. Christ, D. Weber, M. Suchan, T. Bukur, M. Birtel, V. Jahndel, K. Mroz, K. Hobohm, L. Kranz, M.Diken, K. Kühlcke, Ö. Türeci, U. Sahin
An RNA vaccine drives expansion and efficacy of claudin-CAR-T cells against solid tumors
Science 10.1126/science.aay5967 (2020). DOI: 10.1126/science.aay5967

Antibodies

Microbodies

Sommerhoff CP, Avrutina O, Schmoldt HU, Gabrijelcic-Geiger D, Diederichsen U, Kolmar H (2010).
Engineered cystine knot miniproteins as potent inhibitors of human mast cell tryptase beta.
J Mol Biol. 2010 Jan 8;395(1):167-75. doi: 10.1016/j.jmb.2009.10.028. Epub 2009 Oct 21. PMID: 19852971.
Avrutina O, Schmoldt HU, Gabrijelcic-Geiger D, Wentzel A, Frauendorf H, Sommerhoff CP, Diederichsen U, Kolmar H. (2008).
Head-to-tail cyclized cystine-knot peptides by a combined recombinant and chemical route of synthesis.
Chembiochem. 2008 Jan 4;9(1):33-7. PMID: 18058774.
Krause S, Schmoldt HU, Wentzel A, Ballmaier M, Friedrich K, Kolmar H. (2007).
Grafting of thrombopoietin-mimetic peptides into cystine knot miniproteins yields high-affinity thrombopoietin antagonists and agonists.
FEBS J. 2007 Jan;274(1):86-95. Epub 2006 Nov 27. PMID: 17147697.

Bispecific Antibodies

Stadler CR, Bähr-Mahmud H, Celik L, Hebich B, Roth AS, Roth RP, Karikó K, Türeci Ö, Sahin U. (2017).
Elimination of large tumors in mice by mRNA-encoded bispecific antibodies.
Nature Medicine Jul; 23(7):815-817. doi: 10.1038/nm.4356. Epub 2017 Jun 12.
Christiane R Stadler, Hayat Bähr-Mahmud, Laura M Plum, Kathrin Schmoldt, Anne C Kölsch, Özlem Türeci & Ugur Sahin (2015).
Characterization of the First-in-Class T-Cell Engaging Bispecific Single-Chain Antibody for Targeted Immunotherapy of Solid Tumors Expressing the Oncofetal Protein Claudin 6.
OncoImmunology, 5:3, e1091555, DOI: 10.1080/2162402X.2015.1091555.